page_title: Blackpool Pleasure Beach
section_title: Later years (2004–Present)
hierarchical_section_title: Blackpool Pleasure Beach / History of the Pleasure Beach / Later years (2004–Present)
caption_attribution_description: English: Infusion roller coaster at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
context_page_description: Blackpool Pleasure Beach is an amusement park situated on Blackpool's South Shore, in the county of Lancashire, North West England.
  The park was founded in 1896 by A.W.G. Bean and his partner John Outhwaite, and has been family owned and operated since its inception. The current Managing Director is Bean's great-granddaughter Amanda Thompson.
  The park is host to many records, including the largest collection of wooden roller coasters of any park in the United Kingdom with four; the Big Dipper, Blue Flyer, Grand National and Nickelodeon Streak. Many of the roller coasters in the park are record-breaking attractions. When it opened in 1994, The Big One was the tallest roller coaster in the world. It was also the steepest, with an incline angle of 65° and the second fastest with a top speed of 74 miles per hour. Currently, the ride holds the record as the tallest roller coaster in the United Kingdom, standing at 213 ft, with a first drop of 205 ft.
  The park was the first in Europe to introduce a fully inverting steel coaster, Revolution and is the last remaining park in the world to still operate a Steeplechase roller coaster.
context_section_description: Amanda Thompson, Geoffrey's eldest daughter and a director of the park for over 15 years, took over the whole Pleasure Beach business. Nicholas Thompson became the deputy managing director and Fiona Giljé (née Thompson), a fundamental architect, became a senior company director. Amanda had previously risen to prominence as the founder and president of Stageworks Worldwide Productions, which produced numerous stage shows at both the Pleasure Beach and international venues. Like her father and grandmother, Amanda was appointed an OBE for her contribution to tourism. During Amanda's reign, the park has seen vast redevelopment, including a re-branding exercise, as well as the removal of numerous rides including The Whip, Space Invader 2, Turtle Chase, Spin Doctor, Trauma Towers, Noah's Ark, Black Hole, Bling, Wild Mouse and Superbowl. In 2006, the family decided to close Pleasureland Southport which, despite extensive investment and development, had not turned a profit for several years. This move coincided with the closure of Pleasure Beach's Log Flume, Drench Falls and resulted in the introduction of Infusion, the park's first new roller coaster in 13 years. Infusion was relocated from Pleasureland, where it had operated under the name of Traumatizer since 1999, and was built on the site of the Log Flume. It was one of the most visited tourist attractions in the United Kingdom with a top estimate of 5.5 million visitors in 2007.
  In 2011, the Thompson family signed a contract with Viacom, owners of the American-based Nickelodeon brand to open Nickelodeon Land, a 4-acre area situated within the main park. Nickelodeon Land was a £10 million redevelopment of the parks' previous children's area Beaver Creek which closed in 2010. Notable changes include a complete retheme of the Rollercoaster which reopened under the new alias Nickelodeon Streak and the use of the formerly defunct Space Invader 2 building which is now occupied by a pizza restaurant. Many of the other rides were either replaced or repainted and renamed to represent the Nickelodeon brand. In 2013, the park worked alongside Aardman Animations, owners of the Wallace & Gromit and Shaun the Sheep brands, who introduced Wallace & Gromit's Thrill-O-Matic, a dark ride which replaced the Gold Mine, and in 2015 the park teamed up with the RAF to open the Red Arrows Skyforce a thrill ride based on the famous air acrobatic team. In 2018 the park opened Icon, a £16.25 million multi-launched coaster built by Mack Rides of Germany and the first roller coaster to be built at the park in over a decade. In 2019 a second hotel Boulevard Hotel was built on the site of the former Star Pub. The hotel features 120 en-suite rooms, two restaurants and ten suites.
caption: Infusion at Blackpool Pleasure Beach
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